Sports 'n'Such column: Looking back on local sports in 2012

The year 2012 was a memorable one in the world of sports here in Siskiyou County.

A number of teams and individuals achieved at a high level and gave fans a lot to cheer about. Personally, this year was one I will not soon forget. After covering sports on the coast in Crescent City for more than five years, I arrived to work as the new sports editor at the Daily News the end of February with spring sports about to kick-off. A number of teams fared well in 2012 as I was treated to a number of amazing games, teams and story lines in my first year covering sports in Siskiyou County.

Below are some of the 2012 highlights for the year in sports in Siskiyou County, starting with spring sports.

The Yreka Miners baseball team dominated in 2012 and earned a Northern Athletic League title by defeating rival West Valley in the NAL regular season finale on the road by the score of 10-8. It was the first time since 2008 the Miners had won the NAl crown. A highlight for the Miners was when senior Russell Sweet and junior Christian Charles pitched no-hitters on back-to-back days.Yreka made it all the way to the Northern Section finals in its division where they fell on the road to Sutter 5-0.The Miners finished the year 22-10 overall.

The Miners were not the only Siskiyou County team to achieve great success in the spring. Down in Etna, the Lions played some inspired baseball and took the Shasta Casade Conference by storm as the Lions earned their first outright Shasta Cascade League Championship since 2006. Etna was the SCL co-champion back in 2007.

A highlight was pitcher Preston Munson throwing a perfect game in a first round playoff contest versus Biggs. Etna also made it to the Northern Section finals in its division, losing a tight battle to Hamilton 1-0. Etna finished the year 22-5-1 overall.

The Mount Shasta softball team featured senior pitcher Kayla Spini, who became the all-time Northern Section leader in wins. The Lady Bears made it all the way to the section title game where they lost at home to Colusa in a 4-3, 12 inning heartbreaker. Mount Shasta finished the year 31-4 and won its fourth straight league title.

Things were bittersweet for the College of the Siskiyous softball team. On a positive note, head coach Doug Eastman led the Lady Eagles all the way to the state title game, which they lost. Eastman ran a very successful program in his time with COS. In 2003, the Eagles won the GVC championship and made the first of seven trips to the state softball championships in 10 years, including the last six years in a row. But in August, COS announced that it would seek a new softball coach due to sanctions that were imposed against Eastman by both the California Community College Athletic Association and Golden Valley Conference.

Page 2 of 3 - The sanctions stemmed from a verbal incident involving Eastman and an umpire during the state championship game on May 20 in Bakersfield. The sanctions, including an indefinite ban on Eastman's future participation in post-season play, were based on what CCCAA CEO and President Carlyle Carter described as a "decorum violation" involving an umpire in the 2012 state championship game. Eastman was replaced by Mount Shasta High varsity baseball coach Jon Cox.

In track and field, Yreka High sent a total of four participants to state. Jenavieve Turner earned a berth in the 100-meter hurdles. It was the second straight year the sophomore had earn a state berth. Eric Neill earned a berth in the 1,600 meter race by running a personal best time of 4:21.05 at the Northern Section Championships. He finished in 16th place at state. Senior Ryan Kennedy qualified in the discus and sophomore Kaden Culp earned a berth in state in the high jump.

Etha High had pole vaulter Andy Nadig qualify for a state berth and Janelle Jaegel of Mount Shasta earned a state berth in the pole vault.

In boys tennis, the Yreka High squad went undefeated in the regular season in the NAL. At the NAL Championships senior Austin Kische won the No. 1 singles title and Kische and junior Niraji Khalasi won the doubles crown.

In the fall, the Yrkea Miners volleyball team earned its second straight trip to the Northern Section Division 4 Championship game. The Miners took out top seeded Sutter in the semifinals as the No. 5 seed. While the Miners lost to West Valley in the finals, head coach Scott Eatsman and his team showed that they have something special in place with the volleyball program. Also, for the first time since 1989, Yreka earned a co-share of the NAl crown.The Miners finished the season 29-9. Also, senior Emily Andrus earned the NAL Most Valuable Player honor by an unanimous decision.

In cross country, John Whelan of Etna High had a very memorable senior year. Whelan proved that despite coming from a small school he was one of the best runners in the state and proved it at state in Fresno in November when he took second place in Division 5 at the 2012 CIF State Cross Country Championships.

The Yreka Miners cross country team had another memorable season after winning state in Division 4 in 2011. A highlight was when the Miners took first place in all four divisions at the NAl Championships at Lassen High.

At state, the boys finished in 10th place in Division 4 while the girls were 23rd overall. In Division 5, the Mount Shasta boys took18th overall at state while the girls finished in 20th place.

Page 3 of 3 - The COS football team had its best season ever, going 10-1. it was capped off with a 47-18 victory over Chabot in the Top of the State Bowl in Weed in November. It was the first time since 1985 the Eagles had hosted a bowl game.

In December, a total of four Eagles signed with four-year schools, with more expected to sign in the coming months. Myke Tavarres, a linebacker who earned All-American honors on the junior college level, signed with SEC school Arkansas. Safety David Guthrie signed with the University of New Mexico.

Record-breaking running back Christian Reyes signed with Charleston Southern, a Division 1-AA program. Defensive lineman Sedric Watson signed with Campbellsville University of Kentucky, an NAIA school.

The Dunsmuir Tigers earned its first ever Division 6 football title in November by defeating Redding Christian, which had handed the Tigers it's only loss of the year, by the score of 34-15. The Tigers finished the season 12-1.

The Yreka Miners varsity football team made great strides in 2012. After going 5-5 in 2011, the Miners finished the season 7-4 and earned a playoff berth while playing in the very tough NAL conference, which featured West Valley, which made it all the way to the title game in Division 4. The Eagles lost to Sutter, the team Yreka fell to in the first round.

The Yreka Miners girls tennis team had a strong season in the NAL and went undefeated during the regular season.

It has been a pleasure to cover sports here in Siskiyou County. I have enjoyed the passion on display from the fans,coaches and players here. It is abundantly clear sports plays a vital role in the county and I am honored to cover what goes on in local sports for the Daily News. I'm looking forward to seeing what 2013 brings.